I received a voicemail from my traveling daughter at 12:40pm today. Africa is ten hours ahead so it was 10:30pm there. She arrived safely to her destination yesterday and had dinner with two staff members from the school where she’ll be doing her internship. Today she met four other people, all Australians, who she’ll be working along with at the school. They leave in a week, however. They invited her to go along on a safari with them today and she saw elephants, zebras and chimpanzees up close.

She also met some of her disabled students and says they are all adorable. She sounded very relaxed and happy and said she was so glad she came. The culture there is beautiful, and the people are kind and helpful. She was also warned never to travel alone and never after dark.

President Obama gave the commencement address to 8000 graduates at Arizona State University Wednesday evening. I did not attend but my son and his wife did and they said even though the temp was only 102 degrees, in the stadium it was more like 110 degrees because of all the people. ASU is the largest university in the U.S. by undergraduate enrollment of over 67,000 students. When I stopped going two years ago it was around 50,000. I was in an area where I could have seen AirForce One coming in for Obama's arrival but it was hot and I was busy walking around the Desert Botanical Gardens where there is an art exhibit. That will be in my next post.

Our summer here started early with our first triple digit temp in mid-April. I’ve lived here too long to complain much about it but it does seem the older I get the harder the heat is on me. We walked around the Desert Gardens for about an hour around 4pm, the hottest part of the day. It seemed a lot hotter than only 102. I learned one thing, don’t put sun screen on your face higher than your nose. It really smarts when mixed with sweat and it drips in your eyes. We all had bottled water but I was the only one with a straw hat and sun glasses. Have never liked wearing sun glasses but this year, the sun really bothers my eyes.

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About pam

I am retired from real 9 to 5 jobs. I do my artwork and occasionally write poetry. In September 2010, I moved to Fargo, ND after spending 60 years in Phoenix, Arizona. Now, five years later, July 2015, I'm back in Arizona. And yes, I love the heat!

25 Responses to An important update plus a couple other things

So happy to know she is safe and sound and happy. Ellindate is right, this will be a high point of her life and she will never forget it. I love Aussies, and by that, I mean all the peoples of the Australian continent.I am sure she will do really well–look who her mama is.:D

and so her adventure begins. that's so great. what a wonderful experience to have.i had no idea arizona state was so big. what an exciting day you had, pam. i noticed the same thing about the heat. it's getting so i have to really prepare before i go for walks and it's only 90 degrees here in 'the valley' in the summer. well, today even. i always carry a flask of lemonade in my backpack. :happy:

Scott, I wish I'd gone to the stadium to hear his speech but because it was a graduation, you had to have an invitation from a graduate. My son and his wife knew someone who was graduating so they got to go. I would have been happy just to see his plane, but I was so hot I'd forgotten all about looking for it. I always carry water with me even when running errands driving the car. It doesn't take long for the heat to affect you.

She will be ok in Kenya, just need to be in a company and follow the rules. Not to mention how many photographs she will bring home :)It was hot last few days here as well but this year we are lucky for having spring in a real sense of that word. Lat time it was like: one day it was winter, cold and rainy, next day summer with high temperatures :faint:

Carol: Thanks. As long as I have communication from her every couple of days, I'll not let my mind go to scary scenarios. Thanks Darko. As pleasant as she said it was, it's still best to always be with someone. After dark, I'm not sure if I'd be more afraid of people or animals…..:insane: Allan, thanks. Ahhh yes, I am the perpetual worry wart. Glennyce thank you. I've lived here all my life but every so often the heat will affect me. Especially this year. In the last week, twice I've had to stop at a convenience store to buy a bottle of water and one of the clerks who sees me often, asked me if I was ok. She said I was pale but had very red cheeks. I did feel nauseous that day. I had forgotten my bottle of water and was getting in and out of the hot car running errands. I'll not forget my water again.

I'm glad that your daughter arrived safely and that your mind has been set at ease!Africa has the most beautiful people I have ever met. Your daughter is lucky to have the opportunity to meet such beautiful people and she will have a most eye-opening experience amongst these people. Africa may have troubles, but their people are so beautiful and so close to what true humanity is all about.

Pam, great to hear that her arrival had an auspicious beginning. As we all know, that isn't always the case. So at least that's out of the way. Too bad her Aussie friends are about to leave. Any other Aussies or anyone else new from wherever going to be joining her when they leave?Must be really wild to see those animals in their actual habitat instead of at a Zoo.I had no idea about ASU being the largetst University in the USA. It's even more mind-boggling because of it being located at HEAT Grand Central. :insane: Heck, just the graduating class is bigger than many cities. :yikes: Are there any statistics as to whether more of the students are COLD weather refugees who want a break?So you don't normally wear some of those HUGE Jackie-O Sunglasses, huh? 😀

Carlos, thanks. I don't know if any other volunteers will be joining her after the Aussies leave. They all live in a 'host' house and where exactly that is I don't know. I just know it's not at the school. If the owners live there, I don't know that either. One thing though, she will lose internet access when they go. Why, I'm not sure because the school has a website but it might be maintained in a bigger city. Out in the boonies where the school is, there might not be any. I really don't know the exact situation. California used to have a safari type zoo. Lion Country Safari I think it was called. It went out of business. Probably because it was too huge to maintain and they got an offer for the land that they couldn't refuse. Yup, ASU is one huge university. When I was going, there were a lot of people from the midwest. Both my daughters did the opposite. They went to colleges where the weather was totally opposite from where they grew up. Only thing is….they stayed! 😥 😆 In the 60s I wore big heart shapped sunglasses. Still have them!

Issy it gets to that every summer here in Arizona. Our highest ever was 122 probably around the same time as the heat wave in California. I remember being outside that day and thinking how eerily quiet it was…no birds twittering, no one driving around. Then heard on the news what the temp was. A few days later, I saw that some vines we had were fried to a crisp. Hope that never happens again.

She's gonna lose Internet access? :no: :no: :no: I'm a little bit confused. So, there was Internet access at the Host house when the Aussies were there? But, it'll be gone when they leave? I'm missing the connection between the Aussies and Internet being available when they were there and NOT when they leave. Did the Aussies NOT live in the same Host house?Wooooooo! Giant heart-shaped Sunglasses … and psychedelic pants and blouse! :eyes:

Carlos, I don't really get it either. I know she brought her laptop but she wasn't sure if there was going to be internet access. Maybe the Aussies had their own wireless internet service? A cell phone number came up on my caller ID then disappeared which is strange but I caught some of it. When I went to the Cox messaging service on the net, the whole number was there. Not sure yet if that is a new cell she bought there because hers didn't work or what, OR if it is the cell phone of one of the staff people she was with. If I don't hear from her in another day, I plan on calling that number. I believe there is only one host house but I do not know if other people live there or not or if she is going to be the only one there. or do I know if she will be staying part of the time at the school itself PLUS part of the time at the host house.

I didn't want to bring it up earlier so as not to get you all concerned, but the thought did pop into my mind as to whether with the Aussies gone, WAS she going to be the only one at the Host house? Hopefully not. After all, they do stress don't go anywhere alone and don't go out at night. So, I would THINK they'd cover that base of — Don't leave a visitor like your daughter to fend for herself alone in a Host house.You didn't Google the Area Code. Well, they probably don't have the same type of Phone Number format as we do over there, but you could probably still Google THAT format and see what pops up.